The House of Representatives on Tuesday, October 17, asked President Bola Tinubu to allocate part of the funds saved from subsidy removal to the vulnerable health fund to take care of the health needs of vulnerable Nigerians.
Adopting a motion on the need to extend the National Health Insurance Scheme to vulnerable Nigerians sponsored by Hon. Bashing Dawodu, the House asked the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to ensure the implementation of the scheme for vulnerable Nigerians.
Dawodu argued that social economic development is not achievable without access to quality and affordable healthcare.
According to him, the World Health Assembly in 2005 adopted Universal Health coverage as part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) Agenda 2030.
He said after 23 years, only 5 Million Nigerians have enrolled in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) while over 70% percent pay out of pocket for health care.
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He alleged that over 83 Million vulnerable populations comprising pregnant women, children under five years, persons with special needs, and the elderly are most affected by the lack of access to basic health care.
As a result, he said Nigeria is unable to meet the targets of universal coverage, thus increasing the rate of out-of-pocket health expenditure.
He said the health care crisis cannot be resolved without Universal Health care coverage which cannot be achieved without meeting the target of the National Health Insurance.
He said further that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act of 2022 mandates Health Insurance for all citizens and legal residents which has failed.
He said in 2022, the NNPC spent N.4 Trillion ($9.7B) on fuel subsidy and N3.6 Trillion in 6 months of 2023, adding that it will cost about N5 Billion to cover 5 Million persons annually at the rate of NI 5,000 per person.